«We think about parent - child relationships and adult romantic relationships as being fundamentally different,» Diamond explains, «but it really boils down to
the same functional purpose: creating a psychological drive to be near the other person, to want to take care of them, and being resistant to being separated from them.»
Functioning in the
same way beds do in our lives — that is, totally necessary when we need them, but just occupying space when we don't — few dining tables offer the
functional equivalent of something like a futon that can become a couch when not in use for its other
purpose as a bed.